Tips for Sending Effective E-mail to Elected Officials
- Put your name and address at the top of message. The first thing your representative wants to determine is if you live in his or her district. Representatives and staff have no obligation and little time to read messages from people who are not constituents, so it is vital that you make it clear that you live in the district.
- Humanize your message. Many people are uncomfortable sharing their feelings or talking about their own experiences, or believe that such information is inappropriate to the legislative process. It is this information, however, that separates a message from standardized messages drafted by interest groups.
- Be brief. Members of Congress and their staff are extremely busy. Respect their time and try to tell them only what they need to know. Two or three paragraphs should be sufficient. Only include the strongest points you can make.
- Be clear about your position. Your request should be stated as a concrete, actionable item.
- Make your message timely. Send your message when the legislation is being considered. Your message is worthless is it arrives after a vote.
- Don't "flame." You may disagree with your member of Congress, but you will not be effective if you abuse or threaten them. Abusive letters seem desperate to the recipient, and are rarely taken seriously.
- Avoid attachments. Congressional offices rarely print or read attachments. Offer to provide supporting documents on request, but don’t send attached files.
- Don't become "spam." Do not send Congress a message too frequently. An office that receives numerous messages from a single person quickly loses sight of the urgency or expertise that the constituent can bring to an issue.
- Establish your credibility. Explain if you are an expert in some area. Do not shy away from saying that you are either a personal supporter or a party supporter (but never imply that because you voted for somebody or contributed money to their campaign that they owe you a vote).
- Don't lie. Political professionals will spot falsities.
- Don't cc Everybody. Don't send a copy of your message to each member of Congress. You will persuade no one and annoy everybody. A legislative office wants to know that you have appealed to them for specific action, not just sent them a copy of a memo distributed to all.
- Proofread your email. Even if a congressional staffer can determine your meaning, grammatical and spelling errors reflect badly on your overall argument. Take a break before you press "send," and proof your message.
